Ohio (UP) -- Department store giant Wal-Mart announced today that they will be cutting more than 13,000 jobs worldwide while simultaneously opening 200 more stores.

Unknown sources from within the Wal-Mart organization have stated that employees who are more than 200 pounds in weight, or more than 60 years of age will be the first to be targeted by the company for dismissal.

Jong Yoon Sing of a well known Wal-Mart watchdog group has been following the story and regarded the job cuts as being “despicable” and “underhanded”. Said Yoon Sing, “What we are seeing here is clearly a means by which Wal-Mart is attempting to cut back their expenditures on healthcare benefits” adding that “this company has always been looking for ways to cut corners and decrease the fundamental necessities of the workplace”

In a discussion with one Wal-Mart executive, it was expressed that this is not a means of “Employee Genocide” rather; it’s a way to ensure that staff are able to respond to our customer’s needs more effectively. “We have too many employees who are just too fat to walk our customers to the aisle containing products they are looking for, without taking rest-stops along the way” claimed one Wal-Mart manager.

Although Wal-Mart has a proven history of criticism when it comes to their employees, they insist that they are still one of the top employers in the world for providing employee satisfaction.

Look for Wal-Mart watchdog groups and union organizations to attempt to bring this issue more fully into the media in the days to come.

Reported by:

Dan Merrill